Death Row
Death Row is a band conceived by guitarist Victor Griffin and bassist Lee Abney in 1980. Though at the time was the main project of Victor Griffin the band's timeline holds close ties and meshed with Pentagram, notably having Joe Hasselvander on drums and Bobby Liebling on vocals. Eventually in 1983, Death Row would simply be renamed as Pentagram though two reunions would happen in the future. History Death Row Years (1980 - 1983) In 1980, bassist Lee Abney and guitarist Victor Griffin formed a Knoxville, Tennessee (later based in Northern Virginia) doom metal band named Death Row. Shortly thereafter, drummer Hasselvander joined and the group recruited Liebling on vocals. Former member Swaney soon replaced Abney on bass and the classic Death Row lineup was forged. Following two demos in 1982 and 1983, Hasselvander left the band in 1984. Stuart Rose was picked as his replacement, and the band soon assumed the Pentagram mantle. The 1982 demo, All Your Sins, was then remixed and partially rerecorded in 1984 for release in 1985 as Pentagram's eponymous debut album. Reunions (1999 - 2001, 2009 - 2011) Death Row would perform a handful of reunion shows from 1999 - 2001 with the lineup of Griffin, Hasselvander, Liebling and Lee Abney. A portion of one of these shows was documented as Death Row Reunion 2000. Also in 2000 a vinyl featuring a host of rough live and demo recordings entitled Death Is Alive: 1981 - 1985 saw release. In 2009 and 2010 Death Row would reunite, touring briefly in the United States and Europe with Victor Griffin providing the lead vocals while Liebling was on tour with a newly touring Pentagram. Notably in Europe, the band performed two nights at Roadburn Festival and a special night at Hammer of Doom Festival with Eric Wagner on lead vocals (Largely due to Victor Griffin being ill and unable to sing.) The 1983 demo, along with several live recordings from 1982 and 1983 and the band's first jam from 1981, were collected and released via Black Widow in 2009 as a double CD, Alive in Death. A live show from the Death Row era would appear on Pentagram's double DVD set All Your Sins. Discography * All Your Sins (1982, Self-Released) * Through The Shadow (1983, Video, Self-Released) * Whore (1983, Demo, Self-Released) * Death Is Alive: 1981 - 1985 (2000, Game Two Records) * Death Row Reunion 2000 (2001, Doom Capital Productions) * Alive In Death (2009, Black Widow Records) Members * Victor Griffin - Guitar, Vocals (1980 - 1983, 1999 - 2001, 2009 - 2011) * Martin Swaney - Bass (1981 - 1983, 2009 - 2011) * Joe Hasselvander - Drums (1980 - 1983, 1999 - 2001, 2009 - 2011) * David Lafever - Drums (1980 - 1981) * Chris Durman - Vocals (1980 - 1981) * Lee Abney - Bass (1980 - 1981, 1999 - 2001) * Bobby Liebling - Vocals (1980 - 1983, 1999 - 2001) * Stuart Rose - Drums (1983) * Eric Wagner - Vocals (2009, one show) External Links *Joe Hasselvander's Blog References Category:Band Category:Virginia Category:Doom Metal Category:Death Row Category:Pentagram Category:Victor Griffin Category:Martin Swaney Category:Bobby Liebling Category:Joe Hasselvander Category:1980 Category:Eric Wagner Category:Stuart Rose